Tilting chair



Aug- 24 1954 4 B. F. HAMILTON 2,687,166

TILTING CHAIR f Filed April 4, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 24, 1954 B. F. HAMILTON TILTING `CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 4, 1.952

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Patented Aug. 24, 1954 2,687p16ii UNITED `STATES PATENT OFFICE TILTING CHAIR B ,ertis F. Hamilton, Columbus, Ind.

Application April 4, 1952, Serial No. 280,499

14 Claims. 1

This invention relates to atype of chair-,embodying a vertically adjustable seat mounted for rotation about a vertical axis and for tilting movement about a horizontal axis and provided with a back adjustable fore andaft with respect to the seat. Chairs of this type are commonly used in oiices.

It is an object of this invention to improve, simplify and cheapen the construction of such chairs especially with respect to the `manner in which the seat is mounted for rotation about the vertical axis, to the manner in whiclfithe, seat is supported for tilting movement, and to the manner in which the back is supported for fore and aft adjustment relative to the seat.

In carrying out the invention in its preferred form I employ a seat pan, conveniently formed of sheet metal and adapted for the application of any desired form of upholstery, To the underside of this seat pan I secure a `reinforcing' plate having pairs of struck-down ears provided with holes which slidably receive horizontal members of a back support. An additional `pair of' ears struck-#down from the reinforcingplate are pivotally connected at their lower ends toa bracket rotatably supported at the upper end ot a ver tically adjustable rod. The bracket has vertically spaced, horizontal walls provided with aligned openings rotatably receiving such rod; and be tween the walls there `is secured to the` rcd a thrust collar by means of `which vertical forces are transmitted from the seat to the rod. A spring means acting between the bracket and the reinforcing plate opposes rearward tilting of the seat.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the invention: Fig. 1 is a side elevation of an office chair; Fig. 2 is a fragmental vertical section on the line `2 2 of Fig; 4; Fig. 3 is a bottom plan view of the chair-seat; and Fig. 4 is a generally vertical section on the line 4-4 of Fig.`2.

The chair illustrated comprises a base |40 in which a seat-supporting rod is mounted for vertical adjustment. A releasable locking device |2 holds the rod |I at any desired elevation. The present invention is not concerned with details of construction of the base I or of the locking device l2, the construction shown being one more fully illustrated and described in my copending patent application Serial No. 175,603, filed March 30, 1950.

The seat, which is rotatably mounted on the upper end of the vertically adjustable rod comprises a seat pan I5 desirably in the form of a sheet-metal stamping having a downwardly extending peripherallange I6 the lower edge of which is turned inwardlyA to form a lip The body portion of `the seat pan li' is conveniently concave upwardly to receive padding |13 covered with any convenient type of upholstery material I9 which extends downwardly over the outer surface of the iiange I6 and inwardly `around the lip Secured to the under surface of the seat pan i5 is a reinforcing `plate 2| conveniently of a generally rectangular shape. Adjacent each side edge of suchplate, pairs of front and rear tongues 22 and 23 are struck downwardly from the plate to` occupy parallel planes extending transversely of the seat. The pairs of front and rear tongues are provided with aligned `holes for the recep-4 tion respectively of horizontal portions 24 of a back-support 25 which, in rear of the seat, extends upwardly to support a chair-back 26. Conveniently, the back-support 25 is a single length of metal tubing the ends of which extend through openings in the rear portion of the seat-flange |6 and constitutethe horizontal portions 24 slidably received in the tongues 22 and 23. As shown, the lower end of each of the front tong-ues 22 is bent to provide a horizontally extending ear 28 tapped for the reception oil aiset screw `29 by means of which the back-support can be locked in any desired position of fore and aft adjustment.

The seat is desirably supported at the upper end of the rod through the medium oi a bracket comprising upper and lower members 3| and 32 respectively. The members 3| and 32 are Vdesirably of relatively heavy sheet metal, and the member 32 is formed in a U-shape to pro vde at its sides upwardly extending parallel flanges 33 the upper ends of which are turned outwardly to form lips 34 secured to the lower surface of the upper bracket member 3|, as by rivets 35. The upper and lower bracket members 3| and 32 are provided with vertically aligned openings which receive `the upper end of the rod Il, and between such two bracket members there lies a thrust collar 3l secured to the rod as by means of a transverse pin or rivet 38. If` desired, a bearing washer 39 may be interposed between the thrust collar3l and each of the bracket members 3| and 32. To provide a moreefective bearing and support on the rod the upper and lower bracket members 3| and 32 may be formed with annular bearing anges 4U.

The seat is conveniently connected to the bracket 3|-32 by means of' a pair of tongues l5 struck downwardly from the reinforcing plate 2I into spaced, vertical positions. The two tongues 45 overlie the flanges 33 of the `bracket member 32 and are pivotally secured to such flanges by means of a horizontal pivot pin i6 extending through aligned openings in the tongues and bracket-flanges.

To oppose rearward tilting of the seat about the axis of the pivot pin 46, I may employ a compression spring 50 acting between a forward extension I of the upper bracket member 3l and a nut 52 mounted on the threaded lower end of a bolt 53 the upper'end of which is connected to the seat. As shown, the reinforcing plate 2I has near its front edge a downwardly offset portion 54 providing clearance below the seat pan I5 for a head on the upper'end of the bolt 53, and such bolt extends downwardly through generally aligned holes in the downwardly oifset portion 54 and extension 5I of the upper bracket member. Tongues 56 (Figs. 3 and 4) struck downwardly from the extension 5I provide a seat for the upper end of the spring 50. The lower end of such spring may be received in a cup 59` slidable on the bolt 53 above the nut 52.

Forward swinging movement of the seat under the influence of the spring 5t may be limited by a stop screw 60 (Figs. 3 and 4) screw-threadedly supported from the bracket-member extension 5I in position to engage the reinforcing plate 2l near the front edge thereof.

The reinforcing plate ZI may be attached to the seat pan I5 in any desired manner. As shown, series of offset clips 62 are located along the front and rear edges of the reinforcing plate 2 I, each of such clips having two vertically offset portions, one of which underlies the reinforcing plate 2I and the other of which is secured to the seat pan I5 as by spot welding. To locate the reinforcing plate 2I transversely of the seat pan, I may employ angle members 63 each having one leg secured to the seat pan I5 by spot welding and another leg extending downwardly past the adjacent edge of the reinforcing plate 2|.

It will be obvious from the above description that I have provided a seat and seat-supporting structure which, because it lends itself to sheetmetal construction, may be simply and economically manufactured. The seat may swivel about the axis of the vertical rod II, being supported in such swiveling movement by the thrust collar 31 and the flanges 40. The seat may be tilted rearwardly about the axis of the pivot pin 4S in opposition to the force transmitted to the seat through the bolt 53 by the spring 5U. 26 may be adjusted forwardly or rearwardly of the seat by sliding the horizontal portions 2d of the back-support in the ears 22 and 23. The set screws 29 lock the back-support in any desired position of fore-and-aft adjustment.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a swivel chair, a base having an upwardly projecting seat-supporting rod, a bracket comprising two rigidly interconnected sheet-metal members having horizontal, vertically spaced portions provided with aligned openings rotatably receiving said rod, a collar located between said member-portions and rigidly secured to said rod to support the bracket in iixed vertical position on the rod, said member-portions being provided with integral annular iianges surrounding and bearing radially on said rod, and a seat supported from said bracket.

2. In a swivel chair, a base having an upwardly projecting seat-supporting rod, a bracket com- The back prising two rigidly interconnected sheet-metal members having horizontal, vertically spaced portions provided with aligned openings rotatably receiving said rod, a collar located between said member-portions and rigidly secured to said rod to support the bracket in xed vertical position on the rod, one of said member-portions being provided with an integral annular flange surrounding and bearing radially on said rod, and a seat supported from said bracket.

3. In a swivel chair, a base having an upwardly projecting seat-supporting rod, a bracket comprising two rigidly interconnected sheet-metal members having horizontal, vertically spaced portions provided With aligned openings rotatably receiving said rod, a collar located between said member-portions and rigidly secured to said rod to support the bracket in fixed vertical position on the rod, and a seat supported from said bracket.

4. A chair as set forth in claim 3 with the addition of a reinforcing plate rigidly secured to said seat and having two spaced, downwardly projecting ears between which said bracket is received, and a horizontal pivot member extending through said bracket and ears.

5. A chair as set forth in claim 3, wherein said seat comprises a rigid plate-like member located above the rod and extending forwardly, rearwardly, and in both lateral directions therebeyond, a horizontal pivot member through which said plate-like member is pivotally connected to said rod, with the addition of spring means acting between said bracket and plate-like member and yieldingly opposing rearward tilting of the seat about said pivot member.

6. A chair as set forth in claim 5 with the addition that said pivot member is located rearwardly of said rod, the upper bracket member having a forward extension, said extension and said platelike member having aligned openings, a bolt having a head bearing on the upper side of the platelike member and a shank extending downwardly through said openings, a nut on the lower end of said bolt, said spring means being a compression spring surrounding said bolt and acting between said nut and extension.

'7. A chair as set forth in claim 3, wherein said seat comprises a rigid plate-like member located above the rod and extending forwardly, rearwardly, and in both lateral directions therebeyond, with the addition that said plate-like member is provided near each of its sides with a pair of parallel, downwardly projecting ears having aligned openings, a chair-back, and a backsupport, said support having two parallel horizontal portions slidably received in the openings in said ears, one of said ears having a lower end portion bent to extend horizontally, and a set screw screw-threadedly mounted in said ear and engageable with the associated supported portion to lock it in place.

8. A chair as set forth in claim 4 with the addition that said reinforcing plate is provided near each of its sides with a pair of parallel, downwardly projecting ears having aligned openings, a chair-back, and a back-support, said support having two parallel horizontal portions slidably received in the openings in said ears.

9. In a chair, a sheet-metal seat, a reinforcing plate rigidly secured to said seat, said reinforcing plate being provided near each of its sides with a pair of parallel, downwardly projecting ears having aligned openings, a chair-back, and a back-support, said support having two parallel horizontal portions slidably received in the openings in said ears, one of said ears having a lower end portion bent to extend horizontally, and a set screw screw-threadedly mounted in said ear and engageable with the associated supported portion to lock it in place.

10. In a chair, a sheet-metal seat, a reinforcing plate rigidly secured to said seat, said reinforcing plate being provided near each4 of its sides with a pair of parallel, downwardly projecting ears having aligned openings, said ears being integrally Struck from the reinforcing plate, a chairback, and a back-support, said support having two parallel horizontal portions slidably received in the openings in said ears.

1l. The invention set forth in claim l, wherein said rod is of substantially the same diameter throughout its extent within said collar and below `the lower of said sheet-metal members.

12. The invention set forth in claim 2, wherein `the lower of said sheet-metal members.

14. The invention set forth in claim L1, with the addition that said pivot member is located rearwardly of said rod.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 669,253 Fraser Mar. 5, 1901 1,570,435 Dawson Jan. 19, 1926 1,570,436 Dawson Jan. 19, 1926 1,726,372 Stoll Aug. 27, 1929 2,604,928 Willets July 29, 1952 

